Keeping to the shadows and crouching low so as not to be seen, Marissa crept to the basket and lifted the blanket to gaze upon the still face of her dead brother. A blue tint marred his perfection. Marissa stifled a sob and covered the little thing.
“Please,”Marissa heard her mother beg.“Let her stay here. I promise I will raise her to be fair and without bias.”
A sister. No, gods please, not a sister.
“You know I cannot do that.”Nadra’s tone held a hint of anger, and Marissa gave the others her full attention.
What happened next played out like a fantastical drama on the stage. Slivers of terror wormed their way to her core as she watched the high priest place the infant’s palm upon the blade of Nadra’s great sword. A blinding light burst forth, and Marissa cowered in the corner, afraid of being discovered. Tears squeezed from between her closed eyes and dripped from her chin to the thick carpets.
Please, gods, not a sister.The Eirielle was supposed to be a boy. Valterys’s son. He would be taken to Caer Idris, and Marissa would help raise him. It was as she and Valterys had planned.
But the gods cared little for her, it seemed.
A screeching came from the sword, and she covered her ears against the horrid sound. When finally it stopped, she watched as the others bent to give the princess kisses. Marissa, on hands and knees, hurried to the tapestry. She gave one last glance to her mother before she saw Brandt and Rhoane slip from the room.
She shut the door to Nadra’s command that the others forget about the princess.
Marissa would never forget. Never forget her mother let the goddess steal her child to be raised…where? With the Eleri? Why else would Rhoane accompany the high priest? Or would they take the baby to the Sitari? Let her be raised as a savage warrior until she was…what? Needed to defeat Valterys? What was her mother planning?
Questions raced through her mind as quickly as her slippered feet sped her through the palace. Once returned to her rooms, she paced the sitting area, thinking, plotting. She went to the window and looked out over the seas toward the Summerlands. She would need them, but not yet. There was time to plan, to do this right. Lliandra might have custody of the Eirielle, but Marissa was the Crown Princess. She would control the court. Someday she would have her own heirs and rule Talaith as the rightful empress.
She placed a hand over her belly. At seventeen seasons, she was still a maiden, as was tradition. But with the next Wintertide, her mother would take her to a house where she would be introduced to the ways of lovemaking. An empress of Talaith has many lovers and must be skilled in the use of her body for not just creating heirs. Of course, she would not be able to conceive a child until well into her hundredth season or so, but surely there were ways to encourage her body to bear children sooner.
And why wait until her eighteenth Wintertide? Marissa turned toward the west and grinned. She would lose her maidenhead on her own terms, and she knew exactly who would be her first. Satisfied for the moment, she crawled beneath the sheets of her huge bed.
When her maids woke her the next morning, it was with the sad news that the empress had delivered a stillborn prince. Marissa wept pretty tears and said all the right words, but inside she buried her anguish.
She waited outside her mother’s apartments as she listened to the tirade Valterys heaped upon the empress. He was furious to be met with a dead child, and Marissa was certain half the palace heard him.
The two guards stationed outside Lliandra’s doors never flinched, but she saw in their eyes the desire to protect their empress. The Lord of the Dark was an imposing man, but her mother could handle him. She always had.
“Spying, Princess?”
Marissa turned at the seductive voice beckoning her.“Of course not, Prince Zakael. I’m waiting to pay my respects to Mother.”
Zakael’s lips tightened to a thin line.“Don’t call me that.”
“But you are a prince. It’s ridiculous the ruler of the East is an Empress, but the ruler of the West be called an Overlord. That’s a stupid tradition, if you ask me.”
“No one asked you, did they?”
Marissa bit her tongue against the harsh retort that sprang to her lips.“Please, let’s not quarrel.”She cocked her head toward the empress’s suite.“They’re doing enough of that for both kingdoms.”
Zakael’s glance slid from the closed door to her face, and then, as she hoped, to her barely concealed breasts.“They should be allies, not enemies,”he drawled, distracted.“Princess, it’s been too long since we’ve seen each other. Perhaps we should reacquaint ourselves.”
Marissa drew in a deep breath and lifted her chin. At thirty seasons, Zakael was not yet emancipated from his father, but she knew that mattered little to the man. He did as he pleased, often disappearing from court for weeks. Rumors abounded about his randy behavior, and some even said the Lord of the Dark had given his son a castle to use as he wished. Partly as a way to keep Zakael from his dealings at court, and partly as a means to avoid witnessing what his son did for pleasure.
A flush of heat started at Marissa’s sternum and crept up to her face. If the rumors were true, and Zakael was as vile as they said, she wanted to consume his poison.
She led Zakael away from her mother’s apartments and the ever-present ears of her guards to a lesser-used part of the palace, where she knew they would not be disturbed. After she checked the locks on every door of the spacious sitting room, Marissa returned to where she’d left Zakael standing beside an ornate couch.
“I have a favor to ask.”She looked up at him from beneath a thick fringe of lashes and placed her fingertips at the ties of her bodice. She fought to control the trembling of her knees and her voice. If he denied her, all would be lost. Too much rested on Zakael’s response to her request.
“I don’t like favors,”he drawled.“They imply a quid pro quo, and I’m not one for being indebted to anyone. But if you’re the one asking, you’d be indebted to me, and I rather like that.”
She unlaced her gown and shrugged out of it until it fell to the floor. Heat lit the depths of Zakael’s eyes, encouraging her to continue.“As you know, I’m six moonturns from turning eighteen Wintertides. At such time, my mother will take me to a house where I’ll be fully versed in the ways of making love.”She slipped her chemise over her heavy breasts and across her hips until it, too, lay in a pile at her feet. Her pale body shivered against the sudden chill on her naked skin.“I don’t wish to wait that long to lose my maidenhood.”
“Princess, this is ludicrous. If your mother finds out, she’ll have me beheaded.” His gruff words did not match the lust in his eyes.
“Are you saying you don’t wish to take my virginity?”She ran a hand over her breast and pinched her nipple. The bulge in his pants answered for him.“I thought as much. Make love to me, Zakael. Wrap me in your Dark power until I can’t breathe. Satisfy me like only you can, and I will tell you a secret.”
He raised his slate-colored eyes, filled now with fire and passion, to stare into her lavender orbs.“What secret?”
“Afterwards, I’ll tell you. First, you must make me scream.”
His mouth crushed hers, and she tasted blood. His tongue ravaged against her lips, and she opened herself to his brutal exploration. A rough hand massaged her breast before he pinched her nipple harder than she ever had. A cry buried itself in the confines of his mouth, and his lips quirked in a smile as they kissed. The rumors were true—Zakael liked pain.
A throbbing down low webbed its way outward to her extremities until she grasped at his trousers and yanked the ties loose. Yes, he was the perfect choice. And later, after he satisfied her beyond reason, she would tell him of the other child—the secret princess her mother had hidden.
Once Valterys’s rage ran its course, she and Zakael would tell him of the princess, and together, the three of them would find the child.
Their plans were merely delayed, not destroyed.
Epilogue
THE veil was as the v
eil had always been—a haze of mist between the worlds. Except, much had happened in the course of a few short seasons. Gilchrist raised his snout and sniffed the air. A grin stretched the scales of his lips.
Yes, much had happened since he saw the birth of the Darathi Vorsi Prince. Although the lad didn’t know what it meant to be their savior, he would soon enough. There was still time.
Ahmbra fluttered to the ground. Her flying skills improved with each day. Upon her back rode the queen. He shuddered to recall how he’d watched in horror as she sacrificed herself. Blue flames had engulfed her body and her screams had made his ears bleed.
But then the goddess Verdaine had held her like a mother her sleeping child and brought her to them. She’d laid the stricken queen upon the ground at Jinnipher’s talons.
“Heal her,”the goddess had commanded.“Your future and that of your prince requires it.”
That first night, Gilchrist and Ahmbra had taken turns watching over the Eleri, while Jinnipher healed the woman with her tears. Each teardrop blossomed on the queen’s pale skin, like a night-blooming rose in summer. Every consecutive blossom blended with the next until the savage burns were no more.
When she woke, a fortnight or so later, her eyes were haunted, her expression one of great sadness.
Gilchrist had done his best to comfort her, as had all the darathi vorsi, but she mourned the loss of her family and her homeland. It took many seasons before gaiety entered her smiles. He held each one of them in his heart, cherished like a gift.
And now he hoped his news would lighten her sorrows even more.
The young darathi vorsi giggled as only the innocent could and fluttered her wings.“We found more grazing pastures beyond the fifth canyon.”Ahmbra’s eyes glittered with her excitement. She and the queen had been scouting for new places where they might have a better chance of survival. But Gilchrist was reluctant to leave this place, where he caught glimpses into his home world.
“Come now, old dragon, what has you vexed this morning?” The queen stroked his long neck and his scales rippled at her touch.
“Look.”He indicated the veil that separated them from Aelinae.“The Darennsai. She’s come.”
Aislinn gasped and put a hand to her chest.“Rhoane.”The whispered name traveled on the breeze across the canyon.“Can you see him?”
“Aye. He is well.”Gilchrist watched Nadra place the child in an old man’s arms and send them through a glimmering doorway. That was the last he saw of the princess, but he knew, wherever the Great Mother had sent her, she was safe.
Tears streamed down Aislinn’s cheeks to drip from her chin and plop upon the dusty ground. And there, at her feet, tiny green tendrils sprang from the terrarae. They sprouted to slim stalks, getting thicker with each breath she took until a bed of white roses bloomed before her.
Ahmbra gasped and looked to him for an answer. For the first time in his long life, he had no explanation of what was happening.
Aislinn clapped her hands and danced around the flowers. Her long hair flew behind her like a darathi vorsi wing. Jinnipher joined them, as did several of their brethren, as they snorted fire from their snouts and flapped their wings. The Darennsai had come at last and soon, when the Darathi Vorsi Prince wore the Crown of Awakening, they could return to Aelinae.
Glossary of Terms
Aelinae (Ay-lynn-ay) ~ A world created by Nadra and Ohlin. It is disk-shaped with waterfalls at the edge of the world, and volcanoes beneath it.
Claidholm Solais (Kleeve Solish) ~ Sword of Light. Ohlin had this sword made for his daughter Verdaine during the Great War, but she refused to use it.
Dal Ferran (Dahl Fair-en) ~ The fiery pits of hell beneath Aelinae’s surface.
Dal Tara (Dahl Tar-a) ~ A celestial resting place for the Gods and those they deem worthy. It is located in the second quadrant of the Meirdia Nebula.
Darathi Vorsi (Dah-rahth-ee Vor-see) ~ Aside from the carlix, darathi vorsi are the oldest creatures on Aelinae. Several thousand seasons ago they disappeared from the planet, but the Eleri hold the belief that one day they will return.
Darennsai(Dar-en-sigh) ~ An ancient title given to Taryn by the Eleri. Most don’t know the true meaning of the word, thinking of it as nothing more than an honorific bestowed upon her by the Goddess Verdaine. Only a few know the word means, Daughter of the Sky. Less an oath than a promise that one day Taryn will sit at the side of Verdaine, as a goddess in her own right. The Eleri reject this idea.
Eirielle (Air-ee-elle) ~ The one of prophecy. Said to be the destroyer or the savior of Aelinae, depending on which prophecy you read. Only one Eirielle is ever said to be created, but that doesn’t stop those of the Light and Dark from trying to make others. The Eirielle is rumored to possess all the strands of ShantiMari: Light, Dark, Eleri, and Black. Although, the last is only known to the Brotherhood.
Eleri (Ee-ler-ee) ~ A mysterious clan of elf-like men and women who live in the Narthvier. They stay within the borders of their forest and don’t like outsiders coming on their land. The Eleri share a collective conscious, in that they can call on the wisdom of past and future Eleri in times of duress. The oldest race on Aelinae, they and the darathi vorsi share a common bond. Thought to be caretakers of the beasts, when the darathi vorsi disappeared, it was a time of great mourning for the Eleri.
Fadair (Fah-d-air) ~ The name Eleri have given to anyone not Eleri. It is meant to be used as a way to signify someone not of Eleri descent, but often it is used as a disparaging slur against non-Eleri.
Genari (Gen-ar-ee) ~ The Summerlands term for midwife.
Grhom(Gr-om) ~ A spiced drink made by the Eleri. It has healing properties and gives strength through the many ingredients used to make it. Occasionally, the Eleri will add alcohol to the drink.
Grierbas (Greer-bah) ~ A large, wolf-like animal that makes its home in the Narthvier. Wild and territorial, grierbas keep away from civilizations, even avoiding the Eleri.
Narthvier (Narth-veer) ~ A vast forest covering the northeast portion of Aelinae. The Eleri make their home in the Narthvier, or vier as some call it. The Eleri are protective of the forest and use veils to dissuade unwelcome visitors. Only the Eleri know how to raise the fabled veils.
Plenta~ An Eleri pastry filled with sausage and cheese.
Sheanna (Shee-ahn-a) ~ An exiled Eleri. When an Eleri is sheanna, they are required to cut their hair and live outside the borders of the Narthvier until a certain amount of time has passed. Once they return to the Narthvier, they must complete the purification ceremony before they are considered to be Eleri once more.
ShantiMari (Shahn-tee Mar-ee) ~ Two halves of the same whole. ShantiMari is a power found in all things on Aelinae. Within men and women, it manifests itself in varying degrees from no visible signs, to extremely powerful. Those in positions of great power will have more ShantiMari than those born to the lesser clans or Houses. The Trinity of Power is made up of Light (female), Dark (male), and Eleri (either male or female, Eleri ShantiMari is culled from nature). Within the confines of ShantiMari are rules, or etiquette. The power can be culled from the smallest pebble to the stars themselves. Wielding more power than one is capable of controlling often leads to a painful death.
Sitari(Sit-ar-ee) ~ Blue skinned warrior women who live in a community devoid of men. Their island sits at the southernmost edge of Aelinae. It is rumored their preferred mates are Geigan males. Sitari women can be found in other kingdoms of Aelinae, usually scouting for the strongest to procreate with. Once coupling has been achieved, the Sitari return to their island. Male offspring are said to be sacrificed to their goddess.
Surtentse(Sir-tants) ~ An ancient title meaning ‘Son of the Terrarae’. Verdaine gives this honorific to Rhoane.
Talaith (Tal - eth) ~ The capital city of the East. Ruled by the empress, also known as The Lady of Light.
Terrarae~ Aelinean name for earth, or ground. The substance upon which life is built.
Ulla (Oo-la) ~ A kingdom located in the far Ea
st of Aelinae. The Ullans are a tribal people, following their herds throughout the season. Ullan horses are of the finest stock.
Verdaine’s Prophecy ~ When Rhoane was born, Verdaine prophesied that he would be exiled from his people until the gyota returned. His fate would be tied to the one who is and who is not for all time.
Weirren (Weer-en) ~ The ancestral home of the Eleri King and Queen.
Weirren Court ~ The gathered nobility of the Eleri live among the many buildings interwoven through the ancient tree that makes up the Weirren.
Weirren Throne ~ Built into the oldest tree on Aelinae, the Weirren Throne is a living, breathing seat.
Ynyd Eirathnacht (Inid Air-ath-nack-t) ~ Sword of Dark. Ohlin had this sword made for his daughter Daknys during the Great War. She used it to help seal Rykoto in his prison. Its current location is unknown.
Cast of Characters
Ahmbra (Amm-brah) ~ A golden darathi vorsi living in exile. Conceived on Aelinae, she was born in exile and is the last of her kind.
Aislinn al Glennwoods ap Narthvier (Ay-s-lynn) ~ Queen of the Eleri. Aislinn perished in a ShantiMari accident when Rhoane was a young man.
Alswyth Myrddin (Alls-with Mere-din) ~ Mage with exceedingly long life. Myrddin is the advisor to Empress Lliandra and is often far from court on assignments from the crown. No known children or spouses. No known House.
Amdi Agnar ~ Laird of the Ullan tribes. He claimed Kaleigh as his consort and has two sons with her. Descendent of House Agnar.
Anje ap Paderau (Ann-jee ap Paw-der-oo) ~ Becomes Duke of Paderau upon his marriage to Gwyneira. Anje is cousin to the Lord of the Dark, and third in line for the Obsidian Throne. His father was brother to Valterys’s father. A prince in his own right, Anje renounced his Dark heritage to live with his wife in the Light. Descendant of House Djeba.
Baldev de Deistra (Ball-dev de Des-tra) ~ King of the Seas. Baldev lives within a vast complex at the bottom of the ocean. Merfolk are believed to be legends as they are not often seen. Once a year, on their naming day, merfolk have the option to walk among the other races on Aelinae. It is unknown if Baldev has ever honored the tradition. Married to Salaria. Father to several daughters and sons. Descendent of House Deistra.
The Darathi Vorsi Prince (Song of the Swords Book 0) Page 13
